Interior minister reports searches of his son's apartment

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has confirmed reports that representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted searches in the apartment of his son, Oleksandr, the Ukrayinska Pravda online news site has reported.

Earlier, Ukrayinska Pravda learned from anonymous sources that the searches were conducted as part of an investigation into the purchase of backpacks by the Interior Ministry in late 2014 and early 2015.

In 2015, a senior investigator for especially important cases of the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal investigation into possible abuse during the purchase of backpacks for the Interior Ministry and the National Guard.